Dance with the Devil
by The Blood Singer
Summary: Set directly after New Moon. What will happen to Bella's humanity? And what force or forces will stop at nothing to see the Cullens dead? Can true love really withstand such pressure and constant heartbreak? Read to find out. Rated T just for safety.


Images passed through my mind like a freight train. Little audio clips as well, such as the screaming. Oh, the screaming. I hated when I dreamt about the people in Italy, all those people who were massacred so those, _things_, could eat. It seems as though every night I dream about my little trip to Italy. But saying little would be an understatement. Every time I close my eyes the entire trip plays itself out before my eyes.

"Bella" he whispered gently rustling me out of my sleep.

I slowly snapped out of my nightmare to realize that he was the one who saved me on this night, even if there was no tangible danger. I smiled weakly at him.

"Thank you" I whispered. "How did you know?"

Sadness swept over his eyes.

"You were clearly stating your entire dream."

He cringed.

"Out loud."

I'm the first one to say that my comprehension skills are not at my peak at 4 in the morning, but I understood this as soon as the words left his lips.

"Did you just say out loud? Oh Edward" I breathed. "I'm so sorry."

He looked deep into my eyes.

"Bella, you are not the one who has to be sorry. It was my fault that you ended up there, my fault that you saw what you saw, and it's my fault that you are having these nightmares."

Ever since we came back, Edward has been very moody towards me and his entire family. I tried to wait it out to see if he would get any better. But after a few weeks of a constant mood change, I had gotten worried about him so I asked Alice if anything was seriously wrong with him. She assured me that it would just pass, that he was feeling regretful for leaving in the first place. But I knew better. Maybe half of his moody attitude was from leaving me, but I knew what the other internal conflict he was having. Or I hoped I knew. It seemed as though ever since I told him that I would like for him to be the one to change me, he's been acting this way. I can see it in his eyes, he doesn't think that he will be able to stay in control of his other half when he tries to change me, and it kills him inside.

And it gets worse every day. Every day ticks down to when I am going to start my new life, and every day he realizes that he may not be able to do it himself. Next week Carlisle told me. Next Saturday would be the day in which I would join Edwards's family. I almost jumped out of my socks from excitement when Carlisle told me. There was always the thought in the back of my mind that someone might change their mind, and I would be stuck as a human indefinitely. But on this night, I would forget about it all. I would forget about all the pressures and just lay here with my love.

I snuggled up to Edward even more staring into his eyes, and for once I wished I knew what _he_ was thinking. I didn't know of a subtle way to ask him that so I just came out with it.

"What are you thinking about Edward? The look on your face makes it seem like you're in pain."

He let out a low chuckle.

"I'm not in pain my love, I'm thinking about other _things._"

I didn't like how he exaggerated the word _things_. God knows what he could be up to.

I guess my face gave it away.

"No Bella, I'm not thinking about alternatives to this weekend. I'm thinking about red-headed things."

Well, I felt idiotic. But I was slightly worried about Victoria. She was there when I jumped down in La Push, and I always catch myself looking over my shoulder. I wasn't exactly living in fear, more of a constant nagging. I know that I should be more worried, and Edward thinks I don't have an ounce of care for my self preservation, but to tell the truth, it takes a lot to make me scared. And for a normal person, a vampire stalking you would qualify as utterly terrifying, but I lived out my worst nightmare when Edward left. Since that fear was realized and then subdued, I haven't been that concerned with anything else.

But one thing I was concerned with was Jake. I couldn't believe that he took my bike and placed it right under Charlie's nose. I haven't seen Charlie that angry in my entire life than on that day. His face turned four different shades during that screaming match. No lie. And the crazy thing was he didn't blame me for going on that bike. He blamed Edward. He told Edward that I started doing all sorts of crazy stunts when he left. Charlie also added that Edward was the reason why I almost drowned. Which in a way Charlie was right. But Edward had already beaten himself up enough about leaving, so I instantly jumped to his aid. That only resulted in more grounding and more restrictions. So at this point, I don't care about Jake what so ever. He was nothing more than a friend when Edward was gone, and now I don't even consider him that.

"Red-headed things?"

I almost didn't want to know…..almost.

"Why, has someone seen her?"

It seemed as though Edward was debating whether or not to tell me this new information. I stayed silent as he battled himself on this topic. He sighed, and I saw this as a sign of victory.

"Emmet has spoken to those dogs down in La Push on the location of Victoria. It seems we both want her dead, but our clans keep battling each other instead of the true enemy Victoria. So, a few days ago Emmet and Carlisle called those dogs on the phone, since they still are refusing for us to step on their land. They have spotted her on their side of the line. It seems as though Jake has actually spoken to her."

My eyes grew wide with fear for Jake. Was he okay? Did she hurt him? Wait. I was supposed to not be caring about Jake. I was supposed to ignore him and forget all about him. Wow, good job Bella.

I gulped.

"What did she say?"

Edward shifted his position on the bed so that he was closer to me, and he held me just a little bit tighter. I saw this as a bad sign.

"Please Bella. I want you to know that no harm will come to you from her. She won't even get near you with me around, I want you to know that."

I cringed.

"Edward, what did she say?" I repeated.

After a few tense moments he looked away from me and finally spoke.

"She said that she will be seeing you very soon."

A chill went down my spine. I suddenly latched myself onto Edward's shirt and I buried my face in his shoulder. He held me tight to his body as we sat there for hours just listening to my clock tick by. Now please get this straight. I was not afraid of Victoria. I was afraid that she was going to interfere with my transformation. It was what I wanted more than anything, and I had a feeling that Victoria knew that as well.

A faint light crept between my curtains on my window. I leaned over and looked at my clock, 7 am. A car started outside and I assumed that Charlie was going out on another fishing trip. Good, Edward could stay with me this morning.

"What would you like to do today Bella?" Edward asked me as I stood up to get out of my bed.

"I'm not sure. But I'm not exactly coherent at 7 in the morning, so you decide"

He smiled weakly and stretched as he got off of my bed. He slowly walked over to the window and looked outside.

"What?" I asked suddenly feeling alarmed.

"I thought……oh never mind." He closed the shades and sat down in my rocking chair.

He buried his face in his hands and massaged his temples. "I thought I heard her voice. Victoria's. Or her thoughts rather but it seems as though I am just a bit paranoid. You're going to have to bear with me Bella until we destroy her."

I walked over to him and slowly sat on his lap. I took his face in my hands. "Don't worry about her, she knows that I have an entire coven of vampires and an entire pack of wolves keeping her away from me. I'm sure she knows that it would be suicidal to even get within 500 feet of me."

He rolled his eyes. "I am amazed that you care so little about yourself. It's actually quite astounding."

I sighed. "I just don't want anyone to get hurt over me, I'm not worth it."

He picked me up and positioned me so that I was looking directly into his eyes. "Isabella Swan, you are completely and entirely worth it, and I don't want you thinking even for a moment that you are not, understood?"

"Yes" I breathed as I was losing myself in his gorgeous eyes.

"And I have decided on what we should do today. I think that we should go into the city for some fresh air. I believe that after the few weeks we have had, we desperately need to be somewhere else than in town. And don't worry about your father Bella, he won't be home until late tonight so he won't even know that you're gone."

I jumped out of his lap and saluted him.

"Yes Sir!" I said sarcastically.

"Now go get ready. I know that you take a long time in that department." He said with a smirk.

I scurried out of my room and took the fastest shower that was humanly possible. I threw my hair up in a pony tail and ran back into my room.

"And you consider that a long time?" I said smirking.

"You look absolutely stunning Bella." He said with sincerity.

I have to admit I was caught a little bit off guard.

"Oh, thanks"

I could feel myself blushing.

"Now let's get going."

Edward picked me up in a flash and carried me downstairs and out to his car.

"Now, was that really necessary?" I said laughing.

"Actually yes, I didn't feel like having to catch you on the stairs when you would have fallen."

I playfully slapped his shoulder.

Edward hit the gas and off we went. I looked at his speedometer and we were going about 125 miles per hour. I could never understand Edward's fascination of speed.

In a blink of an eye we were in the city. People were on the streets going into stores and buying groceries with their families. It all seemed perfect, maybe too perfect.

Up ahead I saw a rainbow of bright colors heading towards us. And when I opened my door to get out I heard loud band music blaring down the street.

"Edward, I forgot that there was the city parade today. That must be why it's so crowded.

He glanced down the street. "I never did like parades. They seemed a bit juvenile to me."

I frowned.

"Only you Edward Cullen. Only you wouldn't like parades. Now come on, won't you watch at least 5 minutes of it with me?"

He rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Anything for you."

I started walking into the giant wave of people. The parade was actually quite nice. Huge floats with people in costumes were singing and dancing. I must admit, it was a bit corny. But I liked corny right now. I needed to see something corny. After the parade ended Edward and I decided to eat across the street. I started walking forwards and I ended up getting lost in the crowd of people, thank god I knew where I was going.

As I was crossing the street my shoe got caught on a rather large pebble and I fell flat on my face. I picked myself up and wondered why Edward wasn't there to catch me like he always does. I scanned the crowd for his angelic face and when I found it I was terrified.

It all happened in slow motion. Edward had a look of sheer terror on his face. He screamed my name and I'm pretty sure he yelled run for he was to far back in the giant crowd to reach me in time. I suddenly felt someone behind me and as I slowly turned around I saw a flash of red hair.

"Hello Bella, it is a pleasure to finally see you again" A silky smooth voice purred.

---------

**Reviews would be absolutely lovely. I hope you liked it so far, the next chapter should be even longer than the first. Sorry for the evil cliffie! I had to do it :) **


End file.
